Fake punt sparks Eagles to win

WHITEVILLE — A fake punt at a key juncture of the game, along with the stellar rushing of Farrell Murchison helped lead East Bladen to a 28-19 non-conference win over a pesky White team on Friday.

The win improves the Eagles to 2-0 and drops the Wolfpack to 1-1.

The play came early in the fourth quarter with East Bladen clinging to a 14-13 lead and facing a fourth and 5 deep in their own territory. Eagles coach Robby Priest pulled out a fake punt play that sent the snap to Murchison, who bolted through the Whiteville defense for 20 yards — sparking a renewed momentum that carried the Eagles over the remaining 55 yards to an 11-yard touchdown by Murchison for a 21-13 lead.

“The boys played hard,” Priest said. “It was a good night.”

The Wolfpack got off to a quick start, racking up a long touchdown run on the game’s first play and 38-yard field goal in the first quarter to take a 10-0 lead.

But East Bladen owned the second quarter.

A 39-yard pass from Ty McMillian to Eian Hines set the Eagles up at the Whiteville 8 and Murchison scored moments later on a 4-yard run. Jesus Ramos’ PAT pulled East Bladen to within 10-7.

The Eagles’ ensuing on-sides kick was recovered by East Bladen’s Zach Johnson at the Wolfpack’s 47, and the Eagles used a 14-play drive that was capped off by a fourth-down 8-yard touchdown pass from McMillian to Hines. Ramos’ kick put East Bladen up 14-10 late in the half.

The Eagles would never give up the lead.

Whiteville managed to close the gap in the third quarter with a field goal before Priest’s trickery to start the fourth quarter. The Wolfpack pulled to within 21-19 in the fourth, but could get nothing going after the fake punt.

Murchison led East Bladen’s ground game with 208 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, while Ethan Hines had 55 yards on two carries and Isaiah Young had 35 yards on seven carries. Larrell Murchison had 33 yards on six carries for East Bladen.

Through the air, McMillian was 2-for-6 for 47 yards, and Eian Hines had both receptions.

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